Stephens County — Two men were stopped cold Friday as part of a surveillance operation by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office related to thefts of air conditioners and other items.

After receiving a tip from Hart County authorities, Stephens County sheriff’s deputies set up cameras to watch for air conditioner thieves. Two would-be thieves were caught Friday with the tools of the illegal trade in their hands, said Capt. Jimmy Mize of the Sheriff’s Office.

Arrested were Daniel Arnot, 23, and Corey Beard, 20, both of Eastanollee.

“We set up a surveillance at a place we thought they might be. We actually caught them with tools in their hands getting ready to dismantle an air-conditioning unit,” said Mize, who declined to say where the men were apprehended.

The two men are believed to be part of a group of thieves that is connected to thefts of air conditioners, catalytic converters and other car parts in Stephens and Hall Counties as well as the city of Toccoa, Mize said. He called the group “pretty well-organized.”

“They used walkie-talkies and text messaging to communicate,” Mize said. “We served a search warrant on a miniwarehouse in Stephens County and found where they dismantled the air conditioners for the metal.”

Arnot was in custody at the Hart County Jail as of Saturday afternoon facing theft by taking charges in that county. When he is released from that facility, he will be returned to Stephens County, where he faces nine counts of theft by taking, 11 counts of criminal damage to property and four counts related to theft of motor vehicle parts.

Beard was in custody at the Stephens County Jail as of Saturday evening facing the same charges as Arnot, though different numbers of counts of those charges than Arnot, with more charges possible. His bond is set at $100,000.

Mize said the investigation is ongoing, and he expects other arrests to take place soon.